Pyongyang operating regiment-level biochemical weapons unit

Seoul: The South Korean military on Monday said that Pyongyang is presumed to be operating a regiment-level biochemical weapons unit.

The Ministry of National Defence said North Korea is operating production facilities for chemical and biological weapons, and has a stockpile of such materials that can be used in any attack, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The military said it plans to bolster its detection capabilities against North Korea`s possible biochemical provocation.

South Korea has also decided to raise its voice against North Korea`s biochemical weapons when nuclear envoys from Seoul, the US and Japan meet in Washington on Monday.

The decision comes in the wake of Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late former leader Kim Jong-il, death on February 13 at an airport in Kuala Lumpur after apparently being poisoned by two Asian women. 

Malaysian police named eight North Koreans, including a diplomat, as suspects, though Pyongyang denies its involvement.

Kim Jong-nam was killed with a VX nerve agent. VX is listed as a weapon of mass destruction by the UN and its use is banned under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), to which North Korea is not a signatory.